Senior Operations and Maintenance Engineer

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage dam operations and maintenance activities across assigned projects and locations.
• Coordinate O&M requirements with engineering, planning, contracts, procurement, finance, quality, HSE and asset-management departments.
• Monitor the condition, availability, reliability and performance of dam assets.
• Coordinate preventive, predictive, corrective, emergency and condition-based maintenance.
• Review maintenance priorities based on asset criticality, inspection findings, operational risks and equipment history.
• Monitor maintenance backlogs and ensure that critical actions are completed within approved timelines.
• Support planned shutdowns, equipment isolation, testing, restart and return-to-service activities.
• Investigate recurring equipment failures and operational deficiencies.
• Conduct or support root-cause analyses and recommend corrective and preventive measures.
• Identify assets requiring repair, rehabilitation, upgrade or replacement.
• Support emergency response to mechanical failures, electrical faults, gate failures, leakage, flooding and other abnormal conditions.
• Develop execution plans for dam O&M, repair, rehabilitation and improvement projects.
• Prepare activity schedules, resource plans, cost estimates and implementation strategies.
• Track execution schedules and verify alignment with approved plans and contractual milestones.
• Review daily, weekly, monthly and look-ahead work programs.
• Monitor actual progress against approved schedules and identify delays, constraints and emerging risks.
• Recommend recovery measures and revised work sequences where performance falls below plan.
• Coordinate access, permits, materials, equipment, manpower and site requirements.
• Monitor project budgets, commitments, expenditure and updated forecasts.
• Prepare progress assessments and report schedule, cost and technical deviations.
• Supervise implementation from project initiation through testing, handover and close-out.
• Prepare technical specifications for dam operations, maintenance, repair and rehabilitation works.
• Develop scopes of work, bills of quantities, equipment schedules and O&M tender requirements.
• Review drawings, calculations, material requirements and technical data sheets.
• Ensure tender documents clearly define performance standards, deliverables, service levels and acceptance criteria.
• Provide technical input during tender clarification and evaluation.
• Review bidders’ technical proposals, methodologies, staffing plans and work programs.
• Support technical and commercial teams in evaluating variations, claims and additional-work requirements.
• Ensure O&M contract requirements reflect asset criticality, operational risks and maintenance priorities.
• Review contractors’ and consultants’ work plans, maintenance programs, method statements and technical submissions.
• Monitor contractor mobilization, staffing, equipment and material availability.
• Supervise field implementation and verify compliance with approved specifications and procedures.
• Inspect repair, installation, replacement, testing and commissioning activities.
• Review inspection requests, test records, progress reports and completion documents.
• Monitor contractor performance against KPIs, service-level agreements and contractual obligations.
• Identify defects and non-conformances and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Verify completed quantities and provide technical input to payment and completion assessments.
• Participate in coordination, progress, technical and performance-review meetings.
• Confirm that as-built drawings, O&M manuals, warranties, spare-parts records and handover documents are complete.
• Review asset condition, maintenance history, downtime, failures and performance trends.
• Establish and monitor O&M KPIs, including asset availability, reliability, maintenance compliance and response time.
• Recommend improvements to operating procedures, maintenance strategies and equipment performance.
• Support the development and updating of O&M manuals, standard operating procedures and emergency-response instructions.
• Promote reliability-centred, risk-based and lifecycle maintenance practices.
• Maintain accurate asset and maintenance information within SAP or the approved maintenance-management system.
• Capture lessons learned and incorporate them into future scopes, plans and procedures.
• Identify suitable technologies and engineering solutions that improve efficiency and reduce lifecycle cost.
• Prepare clear daily, weekly, monthly, annual and technical reports as required by the assignment.
• Report project progress, asset condition, contractor performance, operational risks and required management actions.
• Maintain registers for maintenance activities, technical submissions, defects, risks and corrective actions.
• Present engineering findings and recommendations to management and government stakeholders.
• Coordinate with government stakeholders, consultants, contractors and multidisciplinary teams.
• Attend meetings, inspections and site visits anywhere in Saudi Arabia as required.
• Comply with Saudi laws, applicable codes, Client procedures, quality requirements and occupational health and safety obligations.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering or an equivalent relevant discipline from a recognized university.
• Minimum 16 years of professional experience in dam projects.
• Substantial experience in dam operations, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation or improvement works.
• Strong knowledge of mechanical and hydraulic systems associated with dams and water facilities.
• Experience with gates, valves, pumps, actuators, hoists, pipelines and hydraulic power units.
• Demonstrated experience preparing technical specifications, scopes of work, bills of quantities and tender documentation.
• Experience planning and supervising O&M projects from initiation through completion.
• Strong experience overseeing contractors and reviewing technical submissions, schedules and performance.
• Knowledge of preventive, predictive, corrective and emergency maintenance practices.
• Experience monitoring project schedules, budgets, risks and contractor KPIs.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, calculations, equipment data sheets and O&M manuals.
• Strong technical-reporting, leadership, analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Relevant experience must be supported by verifiable employment records, project references, reports or studies when requested.